LAX inks 1.5 million gallon biofuel deal

The use of biofuels in aircraft may still be years away, but airlines at one of the world's largest airports could soon be using biofuels in their ground vehicles after Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) signed a deal to buy up to 1.5 million gallons a year of renewable synthetic diesel.

Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG), the company that provides fueling services at LAX, announced yesterday that it has signed a multi-year deal with biofuels specialist Rentech that will see Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, UPS Airlines and US Airways provided with biodiesel.

Other airlines will also be invited to come in on the deal, which comes into effect in 2012 to coincide with the opening of Rentech's new Rialto renewable energy plant.

Rentech said that its biodiesel will boast a carbon footprint of almost zero, will be virtually free of particulates and sulphur, and will meet all existing fuel standards.

The company's technology – which is to be deployed at a plant in Rialto, California and used to generate 600 barrels a day of renewable synthetic fuel and 35MW of renewable electricity – differs from many biofuel firms in that it can be produced from sewage and organic waste, such as grass clippings, that will otherwise be sent to landfill.

It uses a gasifier to create a synthetic gas or syngas from the feedstock, which is then either burned to produce electricity or converted into liquid fuel using a catalyzed chemical reaction known as the Fischer-Tropsch process.

D Hunt Ramsbottom, president and chief executive of the company, said that the process resulted in a "low-emissions profile and near-zero carbon footprint… [that] will guarantee that the LAX ground service vehicles using this fuel will be among the cleanest and greenest of their kind".

He added that the deal should also give the company a foot in the door as it seeks to commercialise its biodiesel for use in jet engines.

The company currently has a significant headstart on rivals seeking to break into the potentially lucrative market for bio-jet fuels after the full governance committee of the ASTM International standards body approved fuels that contain a 50/50 blend of synthetic Fischer-Tropsch jet fuel for commercial use.

Ramsbottom said that the company's jet fuel qualified under this standard and as such has been approved for commercial use.

Rival developers of bio-jet fuels are still working on gaining safety approval and full certification is not expected for several years.